PARIS - President Jacques Chirac said Saturday that information contained in a leaked intelligence document raising the possibility that Osama bin Laden may have died of typhoid in Pakistan last month is in no way whatsoever confirmed.

Chirac said he was a bit surprised at the leak and has asked Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to probe how a document from a French foreign intelligence service was published in the French press.

The regional newspaper lEst Republicain on Saturday printed what it described as a copy of a confidential document from the DGSE intelligence service citing an uncorroborated report from Saudi secret services that the leader of the al-Qaida terror network had died.

The DGSE transmitted the document, dated Sept. 21 or Thursday, to Chirac and other top French officials, the newspaper said.

This information is in no way whatsoever confirmed, Chirac said Saturday when asked about the document. I have no comment.

In Washington, CIA duty officer Paul Gimigliano said he could not confirm the DGSE report.

The Washington-based IntelCenter, which monitors terrorism communications, said it was not aware of any similar reports on the Internet.

Weve seen nothing from any al-Qaida messaging or other indicators that would point to the death of Osama bin Laden, IntelCenter director Ben N. Venzke told The Associated Press.

This proves that the French hate the USA. They will go to extreme measures to thwart any effort on the war on terror! Why else would Chirac say it's not credible!?!?!? They want the USA to run in circles because it amuses them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Saudi secret services have become convinced that the founder of AQ is dead.

If it is confirmed soon, the info will come just in time for President Bush, in deep doodoo (not an exact translation) in the polls, just two months before the elections."
...
"According to a usually reliable source... OBL fell victim, when he was in Pakistan on 23rd August, to a very serious bout of typhoid which partially paralyzed his lower limbs. His geographical isolation, resulting from his being permanently on the run, made it impossible to obtain any medical help. On September 4th, the Saudi secret services got the first news that he had died. They were waiting for further details, especially as to where he was buried, before making an official announcement."​

Mine isn't. Further translation for you:"If it is confirmed soon, the info will come just in time for President Bush, in deep doodoo (not an exact translation) in the polls, just two months before the elections."

so if UBL is dead, and he died of natural causes or disease, and the info is being kept secret to provide maximum political benefit for the GOP -- does the bush administration really collect credit for his dying?

Tongue in cheek, King? He did show up in a video right before the election and helped swing the polls in Bush's favor. Whether the polls in Ohio were also swung in Bush's favor through other means is another topic altogether, but al Qaeda always seems to do its best to focus US elections on the "war on terror" to the benefit of the frothing at the mouth crowd.

Not only was he a Saudi national, but he has quite an extensive family that is well connected in Saudi Arabia. Saudi intelligence would actually be a quite logical place for news of this sort to reach.

Of course, that is in no way an endorsement of the veracity of the information.

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